Crash and Burn
by DaggersBloodPain
Summary: Slash A deadly encounter with an enraged uncle causes Harry to be injured to the point the only way to save him is to merge his human body with his Animagus form. His new instincts pull him in a direction he does not want to go. A direction of Darkness.
1. Animagus

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Rating: M **for abuse, graphic descriptions of blood and gore, slash, and violence

**A/N **in this story Harry will be essentially Light and will try and fight the darkness growing in him. There will be some bashing of characters but no Hermione or Ginny bashing. This will be one story where the pairing will not immediately jump into bed together and I'm not going to say who he is paired with until the time is right. This is a Sevitus in that Severus Snape will be a mentor/father type figure to him but not his biologically.

**Chapter One**

**Animagus**

Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, was dying. Not the violent death of battle, or the quiet death of time, no, this was the painful death of abuse. His body beaten black with shattered bones and split skin. The only wizard who could match both Dumbledore and Voldemort was slipping away.

He had been found in this state by one of the Order guards, after he had been dumped in the park. The Order member in question, one Mundungus Fletcher, was currently getting th metaphoric shit beat out of him for a.) not looking after Harry good enough and b.) being too drunk to give a positive id of Harry's attacker beyond being a big, beefy man.

The few members of the order not too frightened for Harry's continual existence to think about other matters wondered why Fletcher was allowed to guard again after the dementor incident the previous year. Only one of those managed to put the dementor incident together with the timing of the beating, the day after the students were sent home for the summer, and get the logical answer. Harry Potter was very nearly beaten to death by his own relatives, and if Madame Pomfrey didn't get him stabilized soon they would loose him.

The Hogwarts Medi-Witch had called in reinforcements from Saint Mungos as soon as the boy landed in her infirmary. He was too far gone by then to try to move him again. She was in charge of the situation at the moment and it seemed to her, and the others working on him, that there was only one thing left to try to help him heal. It was incredibly risky and had only been successfully done before a grand total of five times.

It took twelve (complete) hours from the time of his arrival to the time the Healer's plan was completed. All that was left to do was letting Harry sleep and hope his body and magic accepted the change(over) smoothly. He had managed to make it through the worst part, but he was not out of the woods yet.

It was one incredibly exhausted Madame Pomfrey that came out of the infirmary to face several anxiously pacing people, a few sitting and brooding, and one face stonily blank.

"How is he?" The haggard voice of Remus was the first to be heard.

"The procedure is complete, he survived. The rest is up to him and his magic. He is in a magically induced coma at the moment, he´ll wake up when he is ready." The unspoken if was heard louder than her actual words.

"What does the procedure actually do?" This was asked by Shakelbolt, since he had been questioning Fletcher when Pomfrey had told the others.

"Harry was badly hurt, if we had tried to heal him using potions or spells he would need such a high dose it would kill him. We had to vanish the shattered bones and remove the more injured portions of skin. To replace the missing parts, we gave him a potion that would slowly change him into his Animagus form. When the animal had taken over the missing portions, we had to use a spell to seal him into the half transformed is now a mix between human and animal." Madame Pomfrey explained.

"I thought the Animagus transformation only changed the current body, how can it replace the removed parts?" he asked logically.

"If you have a non-magical creature Animagus, you´d be right, but if your animagus is a magical creature it recreates all parts of itself during the transformation. That is why we have to seal him halfway transformed, if he reverted completely back to human he would still be missing those portions." Pomfrey explained.

"How many wizards have magical creature Animagus forms?" Shakelbolt inquired curiously.

"No more than about one in fifty, which is why this procedure is so rare. Remember, he could still reject the change, if he does he will revert back to his original state and the shock will kill him."

"So what is his Animagus?" Severus asked impatiently.

"Had he been allowed the full change he would have been a Nundu." She answered grimly.

"You have to be kidding? The Gryffindor Golden Brat has a Dark creature Animagus form." His voice definitely carried surprise.

A Nundu was something on the lines of a very large Jaguar with one distinct difference. The Nundu's breath was highly toxic, and the creatures themselves were far from docile. No single wizard could ever hope to subdue one and anyone foolish enough to try would die a very painful death.

"How much of him has changed?" Dumbledore asked, his face pale.

"His hands and wrists were crushed. I was able to salvage his wrists but he has Paws and I can guess claws. Also, his eyes had been damaged beyond repair as were his ears. Most of his spine and some of his dorsal ribs were broken and he is lucky his magic protected the spinal cord or he would definitely be paralyzed. The skin on his back was nearly flayed, in all honesty I did not have to remove much myself. His lower right leg was broken but I didn't have to remove it, as well as his collar bone and left check bone." Pomfrey answered clinically otherwise she would be in tears herself.

"Can you tell me what made the injuries?" Kingsley asked gently. He had been writing down every injury she had listed off. If they caught the bastard that did this, they needed accurate reports.

"The damage to his spine, ribs, and leg appear to be from a muggle auto that hit him when his back was turned, he may have carried something heavy, like his school trunk, as the damage to his wrists was caused by a heavy weight dropping suddenly. I believe whiplash would be a similar cause. His hand appears to have been crushed by brute force, like someone much larger squeezing his hand and dragging him. The damage to his face and torso was caused by a fist, and probably a heavy boot for some of the deeper spots. He had to be on the ground because it was definitely a boot that split his ears into shreds. His eyes, well, they were burned by something small and round, I´d guess a cigarette. His back was whipped, but not with a whip, but something wider and softer, a damp leather belt probably." She barely managed to get out the whole report without choking up while tears were in her eyes.

"Dear Merlin, how could someone do that!" Remus growled.

"Whoever did it took their time, there are layers of bruising and injuries. I would say the beating lasted good 24 hours with some breaks thrown in, due to the age of the wounds." She told them dutifully, subtly wiping her eyes.

"Who could have done it?" Dumbledore asked almost rhetorically.

"You honestly can't put it together?" Severus responded acerbically.

"Severus, if it had been Death Eaters the wards would have warned us." Dumbledore announced dismissively.

"I am aware of that, Albus, which is why I ´ve already gotten past the Death Eaters. Now who would be close enough to Harry, with the motive and opportunity to kill him." Severus explained as if speaking to a very small child.

"No one. Harry got in the car with his relatives, several people witnessed this. Harry must have been kidnapped." Dumbledore tried to search for an explanation and came up lacking.

"With all due respect, you really are blind, aren't you? Potter was not kidnapped, nor was he missing in any way. There is only one person who meets the requirements and that's the boy's uncle. He is the one big enough to have drug Potter and beat him, he had the opportunity, because the boy was in his care and it wouldn't have looked odd for Harry to be home and not seen from what I saw in his mind last year. Oh,and the fact that the dementor attack, while blaming Potter for it, drove him over the edge. I can't figure out how he was hit by the car, but I can guess it was dark when they got home last night, and a little chilly. With windows closed and blinds drawn a neighbor would have difficulty seeing or hearing anything."

"It just can't be Severus, Harry's uncle is family. They may have had their difficulties, but I doubt the boys relatives could do that kind of damage."

Dumbledore's comment was met with a derisive snort from Severus. "You truly believe that family is incapable of hurting each other, and yet how many cases of abuse do I bring you from my Slytherin's alone."

"That's different," He started to defend himself.

"Why? Because they are the children of Death Eaters? Because they are not part of your precious Gryffindor house, their pain isn't as meaningful? I may not like Potter, but this is a classic case of abuse to me." He explained.

"I just refuse to believe it until I hear it from Harry himself." The Headmaster decided showing his love of second chances and seeing the good in anyone.

"That could be awhile, as the boy is now in a coma which you refuse to believe the cause." Severus got the last dig in.

"Albus, your refusal to believe him doesn't perhaps stem from the fact it was you who placed him there, and you again who gave Fletcher a second chance to guard Harry when he already nearly got him Kissed?" Minerva's voice came out as a hiss and her eyes narrowed.

"My dear Minerva, it is nothing of the sort. I simply don't think family is capable of hurting one another that much." Dumbledore tried to defend himself against the second attack.

It was only if you already knew where to look, you could see the cold impenetrable wall close over onyx eyes that for a split second held immense pain. It was only if you already knew where to look, only then, could you see.

"For that boy's sake, I hope you take off those rose colored glasses and see the real world." No one knew Minerva could be that down right mean to the Headmaster.

She was one of the few that could read Severus like an open book if she chose to. She had been the one to see him at his most vulnerable times, and it helped that she had watched him build the shields in his mind. She could tell the Headmaster's voice cut deep. She knew the cause boiled down to one name.

Tobias Snape.

A/N This chapter has been beta read by FireCookie on 4/6/09

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**


	2. Break Me, Shake Me

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either the Harry Potter characters that I am shamelessly playing with or the song titles I will be using as chapter titles :) (all song artists will be in parenthesis below the title.)

**A/N **here is the second chapter. I have a few ideas for some twists and I even worked out how he will write with his new... appendages... anyone who guesses correctly before the affected chapter will be given cyber cookies... well I think that is how situations like that are clichély used.

From this point now all chapter titles will be snitched from songs.

**Chapter Two**

**Break me, Shake me**

(Savage Garden)

Harry was floating in a welcoming darkness. He felt nothing in his almost hypnotic state. There was no pain or thoughts, and no sense of time passing. He knew nothing about the turmoil going on outside of his mind, and he has yet to understand his newly acquired instincts.

His peaceful rest was rudely interrupted as he felt himself awaken. The first thing he noticed was a wealth of sound, sounds so loud his poor ears couldn't cope. Then a thick wave of scent assaulted his nose heavy with disinfectant and an undertone of sickness. His eyes snapped painfully open as his other senses were overloaded and the light pierced his eyes lighting fires within that burned with all the fury of a volcano. Blinking tears of pain and fear aside he abandoned the soft surface he was laying on in favor of the first place that was both sheltered and in the shadows.

The overwhelming pain did not back off as he found his new safe place, but the feeling of being displaced was not quite as bad. He curled into himself tightly ignoring the fact his human body should not have been able to bend like that. He kept as silent as possible thinking he was back at the Dursleys and this was just a new type of torture.

GDRGDRGDRGDRGDRGDRGDRGDRGDRGDR

"When should he be waking up Poppy?" The headmaster asked as he held open the door for the hospital matron to enter the infirmary.

"We just don't know. Some wizards come through the procedure in a week, the last one to undergo it was in a coma for a full year but he had replaced over half his body." Madame Pomfrey told him, grimacing slightly as Dumbledore let the door go just as his potions master was trying to come in with a case of potions. Disaster was averted by Severus' quick reflexes, but the incident did not go unnoticed.

Severus had reached the supply closet with his case of restock when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Potter's rumpled bed, with no sign of the boy.

"Where did he go?" Pomfrey asked astonished in the same moment as Severus noticing the empty bed.

"He is over here," Dumbledore called as he caught sight of two slightly glowing eyes coming from underneath the farthest bed. "Come on out my boy!" He called cheerfully.

The reaction he got was not the one he expected. The quaking form shot out from under the bed almost faster than his eyes could follow. He was heading towards the door only to be intercepted by a large thick bodied panther jumping in between him and his escape.

Brought up short Harry stopped dead giving Severus time to change back into a human. The potions master caught the twitch of muscles just in time to grab hold of the frightfully skinny form as he made yet another dash to the door. "Potter get a hold of yourself, we are not going to hurt you." He said forcefully but not as loud as normal guessing the cause of some of the boy's distress.

Harry stopped fighting to get to the door and Severus loosened his grip slightly. "Now go get back on your bed so Madame Pomfrey can check you over." He ordered.

Harry slinked, and there was no other word than slink, back over to the rumpled bed and sat with his head down. His hair fell into his eyes shielding them from view but the rest of him was easily seen. He had silky smooth cat ears peaking out from his mop of hair. His once hands were sitting in his lap, both of which were well formed paws. He had a tail nervously twitching descending from his healed spine. His whole body shape had changed do to the feline taking over the removed ribs and spinal column, it made him long and lanky and probably matching Severus in height.

The thing that struck Severus was that the silky fur covering Harry's ears, tail, and paws was not the jet black of his hair but tanish with black markings like a jungle cat.

"What happened to me?" Harry asked in a voice that was deeper with a slight growl on the words.

"You were beaten nearly to death, we had to do something to save you." Madame Pomfrey started to explain but could not go further. How do you tell someone that they are now literally half animal, and a dark one at that?

"Well what is it?" The boy asked impatiently, his tail whipping faster and with more growl in his voice.

"You and your Animagus form are now one. I'm so sorry, but the full transformation will never be possible for you. If we hadn't sealed you exactly the way you are you will die." She told him shakily.

"What am I." He asked almost sounding afraid of himself, he even wrapped his tail around himself.

"You are about a quarter Nundu." She told him grimly.

"I remember reading about those. They have killed a lot of people. I am not a killer!" Harry said starting to become hysterical.

"We don't know how much the cat has taken over mentally. We only know about your physical changes. Your body is far enough along in its transformation you will have inherited at least some of the instincts of the Nundu." Pomfrey explained rationally trying to calm the agitated wizard.

"Hold still Mr. Potter or I can't check you!" She ordered briskly trying to get back on task.

"Is it supposed to hurt so much?" He asked as the pain from his senses came back full force thanks to his hysteria lessening slightly.

"A Nundu's senses are much stronger than a humans. Your eyes and ears have been altered to the point it will take your brain some time to catch up with the advanced hearing and sight. Until that happens the pain will continue and you will likely have some headaches. I can give you some mild pain relievers but until we know how potions will react to your new hybrid status we can't give you anything too strong or powerful." She explained, as she calmly went around checking his vitals trying to ignore the way his ears plastered themselves to his skull and his tail wrapped ever tighter around himself.

Both Severus and Dumbledore just stayed out of the way as the medi-witch cared for one of her most frequent patients. Dumbledore was just going over what he knew still trying to come up with an alternate reason for Harry's injuries. Severus was still subtly blocking the door from Potter's view. None of them knew when the cat instincts would overwhelm him and he would try to flee once more.

A/N So what do you think? Am I doing ok?


	3. All The Things She Said

Gunning Down Romance

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**A/N **Well I have finally gotten another burst of inspiration for this story. One reviewer has pointed out something about Harry's paws, let me assure you I already knew that would be a problem and came up with a solution but I thank you for warning me anyway in case I had forgotten.

**Chapter Three**

**All The Things She Said**

**(t.A.T.u.)**

Harry was still in the infirmary, much to his displeasure, two days had passed since the procedure. He still had blinding headaches most of the time but they were slowly lessening in intensity. In fact, two simple objects had been a great help. Snape, tired of hearing Harry moan while he was restocking the potions Pomfrey needed, had transfigured for him a pair of sunglasses and some earplugs. They were not fancy or anything but they kept the pain down to a minimum and Harry was thank full but hadn't actually expressed it thinking his thanks would be immediately rejected.

Harry did wonder during his long hours of confinement why it was Snape that figured out those could help him. It couldn't be because they were muggle objects he knew there were wizarding versions of them. If that wasn't it, than what could it be? The headmaster hadn't even said two words to him since he had woken up the first time. He didn't know what he did, he hadn't exactly been in his right mind when he first woke up, but he didn't think he had done anything too bad. Could that be why he didn't think of anything that could help him, was he being punished for something?

That thought alone caused him to growl lightly. Hadn't he been punished enough? He did not deserve this pain, and he knew it. He had been forced to grow up quickly after loosing his godfather, one of the last people who loved him for just being him. It had opened his eyes and he understood more now then he ever would have otherwise. If this had happened a year ago he would be drowning in guilt, remorse, and fear at the thought of doing something that might have angered Dumbledore. He felt nothing now but anger.

"Mr. Potter, cease that growling right now young man. You are in no danger and nothing is wrong, so hush." Madame Pomfrey chided as she worked through a stack of papers on her desk.

Harry did quell his morose thoughts, and the boredom returned with a vengeance. There was simply nothing to do while stuck in the infirmary but he had been forbidden to venture elsewhere until his senses stopped hurting him so much. It would not due for him to get lost or hurt if the pain spiked while he was out wondering.

"Is there anything you need done around here?" Harry volunteered in desperation.

"Nothing that you could do without supervision." She answered still pouring over the papers, she hated to be the one to tell the boy his performable tasks would be severely limited due to the acquisition of paws.

"What are those?" He asked, indicating the paper work.

"Student's medical charts, every summer I go through the previous Seventh years to make sure there are no chronic conditions their regular healers will need to be aware of now that they don't have the Hogwarts infirmary at their disposal. I also must make room for the new first years." She replied distractedly, knowing Harry was asking from boredom but they were easy enough questions for now.

"What about the muggleborns? Do you make up a new chart for them?" He asked with a spark of actual curiosity.

"Not exactly, the headmaster retrieves their muggle medical history and I transcribe it into a wizarding format." She answered with more care now that she had a captive audience.

"What about the ones that don't have a medical history?" Harry asked quietly. He could never remember a time the Dursleys that had ever taken him to a doctor.

"Usually they are brought here for a full check up and I start a chart for them. If there is evidence of maltreatment I report it and they are typically removed from the home." She answered honestly having a pretty good idea why he was asking.

"Why did this not happen with me? I was never taken to a muggle doctor to my knowledge." He asked simply.

"You were an unusual case. You did have a wizarding chart from your short time in our world as a youngster. The Headmaster asked that you be excused from the examinations because he had been looking out for you personally and you had no need for a doctor, your old chart would suffice." She knew this answer was not going to go down well, but she felt he had a right to know.

"HE DID WHAT!" Harry growled dangerously.

"I know you heard me. I believe you have a right to know. You are old enough now to start to see the truth of things. I have healed you from your hurts, but only you can heal your soul." She answered quietly.

"I want to hurt him, I want him in pain, I want to be the one to do it. This isn't normal." Harry sounded frightened of himself again.

"I believe that is your new instincts activating. I wondered when they would. You are going to find yourself getting angrier than usual and probably more violent as well. With time I believe these instincts will either become less apparent or possibly grow stronger. The cat inside of you is becoming a part of your conscious mind. You will be fighting a battle within yourself. It has been reported in those who have undergone this procedure before you." She was able to answer clinically effectively distracting him from his anger.

"Have you known any of them?" He asked still tense but the curiosity was taking hold.

"Only one, I was still in my training years at St. Mungos. She was brought in not far away from death, very similar to your condition, and it was discovered she had the required Animagus form to complete the procedure. She was in a coma for four days after the procedure, and I happened to be on duty when she woke up. She also experienced pain as her senses were increased. Her instincts were less volatile than yours, but she too had to learn to deal with them." Pomfrey explained.

"What do you mean by required Animagus form? Is she still around somewhere? Do you know if she would mind talking to me about it?" He started rapidly asking questions.

"I mean that the ministry will only sanction this procedure on people who have a Light Animagus form. You are the only one with a Dark form that this has been tried on, and between you and me the ministry does not know about this. The confidentiality oath healers take ensures no one can speak of this to others. As for her I am sorry to say she is no longer with us, but her death had nothing to do with the procedure and she lived for quite a number of years after she was brought in. I do believe you know her daughter, Luna Lovegood, she was born after the procedure and carries some of her mother's acquired traits." She tried to answer all of his questions.

"Luna?" He remarked to himself. It was unexpected but he figured it made sense. Luna was a bit there, but she was invaluable to him. "Can you tell me what the creature is, I understand if you can't?"

"I have already told you a little more than I should have. If you want to know I suggest you ask your friend." She replied.

"I understand but I thank you for what you were willing to tell me. I am under control now, I don't think I will be murdering any Headmasters on sight." He responded playfully.

"Good, I would hate to explain that one to the minister." She reciprocated. "Now enough questions, I really must get on with this paperwork." She said getting back to the forgotten stack of medical charts.

"Oh alright," He huffed sinking back on his bed, this was going to be a boring couple of days.

A/N Well what do you think? Also there is a poll in my profile you want to vote on. I am going to put the majority of my focus on one story at a time if you want it to be this one than please vote for it.


	4. Control

Gunning Down Romance

DaggersBloodPain

A/N I have decided that yes this is going to be a slash story but no it will not be between Severus and Harry I want them to have a mentor type relationship. 

Chapter Four

Control

Finally, he was free! The headaches that had been plaguing him since the change had receded to the point it was safe for him to wonder around the castle. He had taken to carrying the Marauders map with him and his invisibility cloak so he could explore the castle and avoid teachers if he was in a place he knew he shouldn't be.

The castle seemed so different with his new senses. He could smell the mildew in the dungeons, the dust in the library, and the food cooking in the kitchens. He could hear the water dripping in the pipes, and the sound of Myrtle's wailing from three floors away. He was curious about everything and got himself into quite a few close scrapes during the first few days of exploring.

The only thing he didn't like was they insisted on him staying in the infirmary at night so someone could watch over him. He tried to be as quiet as possible when he came back from his dirtier explorations but the nurse kept catching him and he received a lecture every time. He knew she was just worried something would happen to him and with the castle this empty it would take awhile for anyone to find him.

He was half worried in her exasperated state she would either impose boundaries or confine him to the infirmary once more. What she did come up with was far worse, and effectively made it impossible for him to wander around as he wished.

"Harry could you wait a moment please?" He heard Poppy request and he stopped in his tracks.

"What do you need?" He asked carefully knowing he wasn't going to like what came next.

"I have spoken with the other teachers and you will not be wandering around unsupervised any longer. You may go to the Library or to any teacher's office alone, but only if you warn both me and the teacher in question first. If you do not show up where you said you would they will call me and we will search the castle for you. If you must go to another place you will be shadowed by a professor." She warned.

He felt his jaw drop at the restrictions. That was far worse than he thought it would be.

"Oh don't give me that look. We couldn't risk you getting hurt again. We need to know where you and that you are safe at all times. I know how much you like to wander and I am sorry for stopping you but it is for the best." She stopped talking when she realized she no longer had an audience, Harry had run out of the infirmary in the middle of her speech.

He sped through the halls without aid of cloak or map. He was so irritated with his professors he didn't care to hide at this point. He was just trying to burn enough energy he didn't explode when the first teacher found him, and he knew he would if they found him in this state. Dodging through corridors, he ignored the annoyed grumbling of the portraits in his haste.

Where did they get off with controlling him? Didn't they realize he was only in this state because of their control? If they were doomed to repeat their mistakes, he sure as hell wouldn't be there to reap the consequences once more. He was already half cat damn it how much more of his humanity did they plan on stripping away? His sanity was certainly not going to hang in there if they continued their controlling ways that's for sure.

He hadn't even realized just where his feet had taken him.

"You couldn't even follow the rules set down for your own protection? You are even more like your father than I thought." Snape's voice cut into his sensitive ears and he stopped his internal rant to realize the imposing professor was right in front of him.

"Forgive me Professor," He started in with mock respect, "if you were nearly killed and turned into half-a-cat by following the rules set for 'your own good' you would be wary of following those rules again."

"Even if that were true you will still follow the rules set down by your superiors." Snape responded harshly just adding fuel to Harry's anger.

"Oh just stop it with the holier than thou speech. I know you obviously didn't follow the rules either, and you have the gall to tell me what I can and can't do. Oh and for the last fucking time I AM NOT MY FATHER!" Harry ended up screaming not being able to control his hot temper anymore. "I NEVER EVEN KNEW HIM! WHERE IN THE HELL DID YOU GET IT IN YOUR HEAD I WOULD BE A REPLICA OF SOMEONE I. HAVE. NEVER. MET?" Harry spelled out angrily.

Severus was having trouble controlling his own temper. "You will not speak to a professor in such a manner. I refuse to allow you to run around wild any longer. Since no one else seems to realize your feral nature I will have to take care of it myself. You will follow me or the consequences will not be pleasant!" He was too angry to realize threatening someone who had obviously endured a lengthy period of abuse was probably not the best way to insure cooperation

Harry was abruptly pulled from his anger and switched to fear. His first instinct was to run away and he had just moved to do so when Severus grabbed him by the collar of his robes anticipating the move. He clenched his teeth and with fire dancing in his emerald eyes he followed his potion's professor back to the infirmary, a firm hand grasping the back of his robes the whole trip.

"I found him Poppy, and I have decided the infirmary is not where Potter needs to be. If you could point me towards Potter's things I will be moving him to the dungeons, with me." Severus spoke respectfully to the Hogwarts matron even as he kept a firm grip on the now violently twisting boy.

"Why Severus, you don't like the boy?" She asked shocked even as she started to mindlessly pack Harry's thins into his trunk.

"That's right, and that is what he needs right now. I have warned you before you have been too soft with him. He does not understand the difference between wrong and right. This needs to be corrected if there is ever going to be any hope for the boy." He answered her succinctly and he knew he had shocked the boy as he had stopped his struggles momentarily.

With his answer she shrunk the trunk and passed it to the potion's master. Severus was nearly out of the infirmary before she spoke again, and it was just a quiet whisper. "Don't hurt him Severus."


	5. Meet in the Middle

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Five**

**Meet in the Middle**

Severus escorted Harry down to the dungeons without preamble. He steadily reined in his temper as they walked so he might be able to handle the situation a little better when they reached his quarters. He had more than one reason for bringing the boy with him.

Harry was working on his fear, pushing it back and letting his temper take over so he could face the formidable Potion's master and not start quaking in his boots. It wasn't the best move he could have made because that just made him more likely to fly out of control if he heard something he didn't like.

When they reached Severus' quarters Harry watched on as he placed his large hand on the door, presumably changing any wards that might be on it. Harry was even more startled when Severus, gently this time, grabbed his hand and placed it on the door under his own. He felt his magic tingle then the door swung open.

"You now have access to these rooms, but no one else will be allowed to follow." Severus took the time to explain as he led Harry inside.

Harry found himself looking into a comfortable looking room, he was expecting Slytherin green and silver, but that was not the case it was warm earthy tones, there was some green but it was a deeper forest shade. He saw a long couch and an overstuffed arm chair made out of chocolate brown leather.

"Come in and sit down." Snape ordered.

He hesitantly did as ordered curling up impossibly small in the corner of the couch, causing Severus to almost smile at the sight of the enormous couch dwarfing Harry.

"Alright, first thing I am going to make clear is I did not bring you here to hurt you, so you can stop being afraid and sit up to talk to me." Snape informed Harry as he recognized the way Harry was sitting as a defense mechanism.

"Why did you bring me here then?" Harry asked cautiously as he uncurled a little.

"If you had listened and had not been trying to run away at the time you would have heard me tell Madame Pomfrey before we left. I brought you here because if you stayed with any one else in this castle they would handle you with kid gloves, and that is not what you need right now." Severus started to explain and he watched as Harry's furry ears perked up and swiveled in his direction in a silent bid for him to continue. "I saw what you looked like before they healed you, and I have my suspicions as to the cause. Normally with such suspicions you would already be set up with appointments to see a mind healer, but the Headmaster would not allow it. If you are coddled now, when you are still healing, when the time comes for you to rejoin the real world you will break down."

"How do you know that!" Harry interrupted before he could finish, "I made it this far and I haven't broken down yet why should now be any different?"

"Because you are not the only one I have seen like this. You need to be treated now the way you would as if none of this had happened, we will look after you so you don't back slide or flashback, but the only way for you to come back to a normal life from this is to be treated normally, not like you are going to fall apart at any minute. The real world is not going to be kind, so we can not afford to be or you will crash and burn trust me on this if nothing else." Severus pressed trying to get through to the boy. He had seen the signs, Harry was already beginning to fly apart, their confrontation in the halls proved it.

"Why does it even matter!?! I am going to die when they put me against Voldemort anyway! Why not break me first so I will be a good little lamb while being led to slaughter!" Harry exclaimed losing grip on his temper again.

"I see Dumbledore has finally told you the truth, Harry, despite your past treatment no one here wants to see you die, least of all at the hands of Voldemort. You would not have the prophecy hanging over your head if you were destined to lose. You are Voldemort's equal not his inferior, with training you will be on even ground. You can win against him. Hasn't anyone ever told you that before?" Snape answered Harry's rant with one of his own, but he was truly curious about the last point. Had no one bothered to tell the boy he might actually win?

Brought out of his rage by the use of his first name Harry finally answered. "No one ever bothered to tell me why I had to fight, why would you believe they would tell me I could win?"

Severus couldn't help the look of shock that spread across his face. Harry had a point, but for once he wished the boy was wrong. "With everyone hanging on your every whim I assumed you would be told you were going to win at least once." He answered recovering quickly from the shock.

"Oh please, you mean the wizarding world actually doing something good for once? You have to be joking. No everyone of those people just wanted to see the boy-who-lived, look at the scar, snap a picture, and sneak an autograph. The only ones who spoke to me, as just Harry, was the Weasleys, Hermione, Luna, and Malfoy." Harry confessed. "I hated everyone being so close all the time. I never got a moment's peace. Yes they were hanging on my every whim unless that whim involved them getting the hell away from me and since that was usually my only one given they didn't really listen much did they?" Harry seemed resigned to this, but he held enough of a spark of anger that all hope wasn't lost.

Now Severus knew he had made the right decision. "Well as long as you are staying here you will be treated just like anyone else would be, you do something wrong you will be grounded, but if you do something right you will be rewarded accordingly. Now it will take at least a day to have a second bedroom added to these quarters so for now you will be sleeping out here, the bathroom is on your left, and my room is to the right, we will eat all meals in the Great Hall with the other Professors. When your room is added I expect you to keep it relatively neat, and you need to complete your summer homework. If you need anything and Madame Pomfrey clears you we will be taking a trip to the Alley this weekend to get your things. Do you find anything wrong or unfair with these rules?"

"Do the rules Madame Pomfrey told me about still apply?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes, because those were set for your protection. You are not a prisoner here but if something were to go wrong there are not enough people here to find you." Severus answered.

"I can't say I like it, but I understand the rules and will follow them." Harry agreed without further fighting for the moment, but they both knew there would be many tussles to come as his restlessness set in, only augmented by the cat genes in his body.


	6. Promise of a New Day

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Six**

**The Promise of A New Day**

"Get up Potter, you have twenty minutes to get ready." Severus commanded as he dropped a long black cloak on the boy's lap.

Harry sleepily opened his eyes grumbling a bit under his breath but still managing to pull himself up off the couch. Years of waking up exactly when he was called at the Dursleys helped him here. Stepping into the bathroom he was soon standing beneath the hot spray of a quick shower, giving him a moment to get his bearings. He had been staying with Severus for a week now, and no blood had been shed, but considering Harry pretty much stayed glued to the couch and Severus stayed in the lab it wasn't too hard to avoid each other.

Today was the day he was going to Diagon Alley provided Madame Pomfrey let him go. He would have to be shadowed by Severus but it would be the first time he had been outside of Hogwarts halls since the attack, he was looking forward to it.

When it came to getting himself dressed he had to be careful to not let any of his claws rip through the relatively thin fabric. He had found it difficult but not impossible to dress himself with his new paws, apparently cat paws were almost as dexterous as human hands, but the anatomy was shifted around. It took some practice but he was nowhere near an invalid. Those paws had even answered a very important, but admittedly overlooked problem, Harry himself had forgotten about it until he had attempted to get some work done on his summer assignments. Without fingers he couldn't hold a quill, well he could hold it, but not the way he needed to for actual writing.

It was with great frustration that he extended his claws and was about to seek revenge on the innocent writing instrument when he saw the answer to the problems. His claws they had an odd feature, they were not a solid triangle of material but instead had a kind of divot running up the underside of it. With a glance around himself to make sure The Bat was still in the lab he dipped one of his claws into the ink pot, putting it to the parchment he tried to write his name. It turned out more like a solid black blob, but with a bit of experimenting and some sore cuticles later you could almost make out his name. The trick was he couldn't fully extend the claw, he had to hold it only half way out, it was uncomfortable but he had done it. He had solved the first of many problems his new acquisition had provided.

Without much thought he through the cloak around himself and left the bathroom, he did not feel like angering the professor when they were forced to stay together for at least several hours.

"Took you long enough, now we are going up for a quick breakfast, then you will be having a check up, only if Pomfrey gives you clearance will we head out to London." Severus explained already leading the way out of the chambers and up to the great hall.

Harry didn't respond there wasn't much point in saying anything when there was no doubt or question. He had learned the delicate art of keeping his mouth shut. It was a hard won skill but it was worth the effort.

In the great hall he took advantage of the chance to get away from Severus and slid into a seat between McGonagall and Flitwik who were the quickest to get over their shock at seeing him. They caught him up in a discussion about the upcoming year's classes and breakfast flew by. It seemed like he had just slid into his seat when Madame Pomfrey came over to him.

"It is time for your check up Mr. Potter, follow me." She asked him gently.

He put down his fork and followed the nurse to the infirmary. Sitting up on his bed he let the nurse run all the diagnostic tests she could think of. He was healing well and he was fully functioning again. "I will allow you to go today, but take it easy, the newly healed skin and bones will still be tender." She approved.

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey, I had better get moving then before the Professor has to come looking for me." Harry thanked the nurse hopping off the bed.

"Harry, is he treating you well?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

"We haven't really spoken much to tell the truth, we just stay out of each other's way for the most part. He hasn't hurt me or anything if that is what you are asking." Harry answered pausing with his paw on the door.

"Alright, but if things get too harsh you can stay here for a night if you need to. Severus is a good man but he does have a temper on him, not unlike yourself." Madame Pomfrey explained slyly.

"I noticed," Harry answered with a grimace remembering potion's class, but he studiously ignored her comparison. "I really have to go, but I may stop in after dinner this evening for a chat, is that alright?"

"Of course, you are welcome here." She allowed as he excited with a small smile of gratitude and Pomfrey's breath caught in her throat. For a moment, he had just looked exactly like Lily Evans, even with his changes he still had her eyes his pupils were just slitted like a cat.

Harry had not heard or seen the gasp he was too busy raising to the Entrance Hall to meet Severus before he got in trouble. Remembering to stop running before he reached his professor diverted the grounding he was likely to get if caught running in the halls.

"Put your hood up, I gave you that cloak in the hopes we can avoid too much attention. We are traveling by Port Key today, it will take us to the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron and will return us here." Severus explained as he held out a piece of parchment that was to be their transportation. Harry slid his hood up covering his ears and shielding his famous scar and grabbed the parchment.

Severus tapped the parchment with his wand whispering, "Portus." The parchment glowed for a second then Harry felt the familiar, but still just as hated, sensation of a hook behind his navel.

He surprisingly landed on his feet, but the nauseous feeling port keys always gave him was amplified. He had to work to keep his breakfast in his stomach. He followed behind Severus meekly still feeling sick as they entered the alley.

"We are going to Ollivanders first, we can't have you out on the street unarmed." Severus informed him, as he led the green tinged teenager into the dusty shop. That just reminded Harry that like a quill his paws prevented him from using a wand successfully, safe within Hogwarts' wards he had tried over and over again and couldn't even get a levitating charm to work, his paws just couldn't do the movements right while holding the thin stick.

Ollivanders was the same as he remembered it, boxes and boxes of wands sat on dusty clogged shelves, but they were not here for a conventional wand.

"Ah, Mr. Potter I have been expecting you, please step into the back." Ollivander requested with a nod to Severus, giving him the same order.

The back shop of Ollivanders was a wizard's delight all sorts of wood samples and heavily magical cores were meticulously labeled and put in place. This was the only part of the store not covered by dust or clutter. This was where the serious work was done, and Ollivander was not the best wand maker for nothing, he took his work seriously almost reverently.

"Minerva McGonagall has explained to me your current predicament, and I believe I have come up with a solution." Ollivander explained as he took out a square box about twice as thick but half as long as the average wand. Inside was two wooden bangles, the bracelets had no noticeable breaks or fasteners which left Harry wondering how he was going to get them on.

"These are made from holly just as your old wand was, they will adjust themselves to the exact circumference of your wrists, as they must be touching your flesh to work properly. There are two ways to properly power these, and one is to split the core from your old wand and put a half into each bracelet this would require you to use both hands to cast spells as you will need the complete core to channel your magic. The other option is only available for wizards strong enough to power two cores and that is to find a compatible core and put a complete core into each bracelet, the two cores must be able to work together, but can be used independently as the need arises. The second option does come with some danger because if the wizard powering the cores is not strong enough to meld them together the magic will be faulty and spells will not turn out as they should." The wand maker explained easily.

"How can you tell which option would be better?" Harry asked logically as both had a downside.

"All wizards fitted with these should attempt to find a compatible core they can power. The draw backs to the first option are harder to work around, it works if needed but it is better to check for a second compatible core." Ollivander advised sagely.

"Can you show me how to look for a second core?" Harry asked starting to get excited at the prospect.

"Just as the first wand chose you, the second core will find you. I suggest skipping over other phoenix feathers as compatible cores are never of the same creature as the first." He explained leading Harry over to the carefully labeled cores. "Put your hand on each box, the one you want is the one that warms to your touch. If none of these cores warm than your original core will be used to power both bracelets."

Harry did as he was told, a bit self conscious when his large sleeves slipped back showing his paws. The boxes containing phoenix feathers almost repelled him, he didn't bother touching them, and moved on to the next animal. Unicorn tail hairs felt a little less rejecting then the phoenix parts letting him actually touch the box, but none of them warmed. The last cores were dragon heartstrings, passing his hand over them it felt almost welcoming and indeed one of the boxes heated up in his palm. He handed the box over to Ollivander.

"Dragon Heartstring, a very powerful core, and it does work well with phoenix feathers. The two creatures are essentially cousins, both creatures of fire, and both our capable of healing or destructing, though the phoenix is more on the healing side with the dragon on the more destructive." Ollivander explained as he pulled the box with the heartstring over to the table the holly bangles were sitting on.

"May I please have the original wand?" Ollivander requested and the desired object was produced.

Harry watched with awe as Ollivander whispered many spells over the wand, deactivating the protections and releasing the core intact from the confines of the wood. He lay the feather next to the heartstring, and held the bangles over each of them setting them down when he felt the core tug at the wood. Whispering another string of spells over the items the cores sunk into the wooden circles, and by now Ollivander was drenched in sweat from his efforts.

"The rest is up to you, put them onto the wrists they are drawn to." The tired wand maker ordered as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Harry picked up each bracelet in turn slipping it over his hand and onto his wrist the wood expanding and contracting to fit as needed it was a very odd feeling, but the warmth that spread upwards from them once they were snuggly seated was indescribable. The phoenix half had chosen to go on his right with the dragon on his left wrist, the phoenix was the dominant core.

Harry was still staring at his new focuses, he didn't notice Severus settling the bill with Ollivander telling him to take the money from the Hogwarts accounts, and he barely registered heading to Gringotts to retrieve his own money. He might have wondered just how his key got passed around so much if he had been thinking but he wasn't.

He did notice when he was shoved into Madame Malkin's robe shop, and Severus' stern order, "Now that you are armed we will split up to get the shopping done faster, I will get your books and potions ingredients, you will get fitted for new robes. Wait for me to come get you before we move on from here. Like Ollivander she has warning of this visit and will be waiting for you, any misbehavior will be reported."

He found that Severus had been right and Madame Malkin herself was waiting for him inside. She led him to a private fitting room, only telling him to remove the cloak when they were safely inside. His woebegone clothing underneath the cloak got him a few stern looks from the woman as she set the magical measuring tapes to fit him properly.

"What styles of robes are you looking for?" She asked professionally, taking a notebook out of thin air to start writing down his order.

"I need a few sets of standard school robes, and because I am not spending the summer in the muggle world a few everyday robes as well." Harry answered after some thought.

"For the everyday robes have you thought about colors or fabrics?" She asked him with a touch of excitement at finally being able to see him out of those ragged clothes.

"Green and black definitely, maybe red?" Harry asked getting started on what would be fairly length discussion of shades and fabrics.

Severus was waiting impatiently for him out front when he got out of the fitting room. His cloak and hood back in place. "We will be finishing up quickly after this, we cannot stay out for too much longer."

Harry nodded in agreement following Severus sedately to the few shops still on the list of things needed. Heading back to Hogwarts Harry felt satisfied that even though he was still sick he could finally land on his feet.


	7. One Step Closer

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Seven**

**One Step Closer**

Harry slid quietly into the infirmary, his eyes glowing mischievously as he slunk towards the unsuspecting medi-witch. His muscles quivered with tense anticipation as he eyed the matron making yet another inventory of her potion's stock. He wasn't going to hurt her, just startle her a bit…

He laid his body low to the ground and prepared to leap the last few feet between them and just as his body started to lift from the ground, "Don't even think about it Mr. Potter." Madame Pomfrey's clear voice startled him mid-leap and the strategic twisting maneuver performed to land safely back on his feet a good distance from the now chuckling nurse was highly amusing to see from the normally dignified half-cat.

"You never let me have any fun," Harry grumbled.

"And you never let me get any work done," She teased shaking her head and turning back to the potion's cabinet leaving him to sit on the edge of the nearest bed.

"I don't come around all that often do I?" He asked with a bit of honest concern.

"You know you have an open invitation here, now what brings you here on a day when you should be either studying or prowling around harassing local wildlife outside?" Madame Pomfrey reminded him.

"I just know the Headmaster is planning something for my birthday 'to make up for past mistakes' and I really don't want anything like what I just know the old coot is planning. I just want a day with my friends. Do you think there is anything you could do to stop him? Especially if he has a surprise party planned, which we both know would not go over well?" Harry pleaded turning full kitten eyes onto the kindly witch.

"I would if I could Harry, I do know how such an event will go over, but you know better then most how impossible it is to change that man's mind once he has decided he has the right idea. I can try to warn you if I hear a rumor of when and where so you are not completely startled, but there isn't more I can do." Poppy admitted, meaning every word, she had quite the soft spot for the boy who had been a regular visitor in her infirmary for nearly a month.

"Thank you for what you can do then, I just know whatever he is planning will not end well. It will be hard enough explaining the whole cat thing and living with Snape if I am not already overloaded." Harry responded despondently.

"How are things going?" Poppy asked pretty generally.

"Well I am getting used to the changes, at least I am not a shrimp anymore! I don't like the fact I have occasional urges to hurt things when I am irritated. The instincts are pretty powerful, but no more so then my usual temper but we both know how much trouble I got into with just that. Living with Snape has been getting better, a little anyways, I have my room and he has his lab. He makes sure I attend meals and sleep regularly, he and I mainly avoid each other unless necessary. He did help me with my Potion's essay the other day even if it was only pointing out which book I would need to find the right information." Harry reported, she hadn't asked him that for awhile preferring to let him ramble on as he liked, but he had presented her with a golden opportunity.

"I am glad you are adjusting, this can't be easy for you. I am truly sorry none of us saw this sooner or you may not be in this mess." She slipped back into her self-flogging mode just a bit too easily.

She was pulled out of it by the warm weight of Harry's paw on her shoulder. "I do not blame anyone but my Uncle for this. People see what they want to see, and abuse is not a pretty thing. Yes, I know it was abuse, I have known for awhile but it truly was never quite this bad until the dementor incident. I was put there by someone the whole wizarding populace trusts. Why would anyone think to look for neglect from the family of the boy-who-lived? I am finally learning to accept and move on, I will be alright, stop carrying around guilt that had no place on your shoulders?" Harry rumbled out in his deepened voice.

"Thank you Harry, but I still don't deserve it, I should have seen it even if no one else does. You were not the first student brought to me too small, undernourished, and poorly healed. I should have seen it for what is was not what I hoped it was." She continued to flog herself.

"You have been nothing but good to me over the years, without you patching me up Hogwarts might have killed me off long before my uncle got the chance," He reassured with a rogue smile. "You were the first adult to care about me for as long as I can remember, so I repeat, let go of that guilt, it is not yours to bare."

"I will always carry some of that guilt, we are here to protect you Mr. Potter, I did not do my job the way I was supposed to. You may not have a very good idea of how adults are supposed to act around children, but the guilt I feel is justified, one day you will see that. I may not be as deserving of guilt as some others, but I should have been the first to see your pain for what it was." She pressed.

"If feeling this way is what you need, than I can't stop you can I? Just remember you are forgiven, now and ten years down the road. You are allowed to make peace with the past and move on it is what I have to learn how to do too." Harry admitted.

"Oh, Harry," She cried through her tears throwing her arms around the lithe half-cat, and proceeded to cry her heart out as Harry patted her shoulder helplessly, well now what did he do?


	8. Nobody's Listening

Gunning Down Romance

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Eight

Nobody's Listening

Harry did manage to extract himself from Madame Pomfrey's grip eventually, leaving them to get back to their usual tasks. Harry still had to work on his summer assignments, though there was much less left to do since he started living with Snape. He must say living with the dungeon bat had taught him a thing or two about controlling his volatile temper and his new instincts. Harry knew that moving in with Snape might just be the best thing that could have happened to him from this whole mess, however he wouldn't admit that aloud under pain of death.

He had done some research on his new wristband focuses and he learned why he needed two bands in the first place. It turned out to be all about the balance of the elements with his magic. A single wand achieved this balance with the different lengths they were cut to, his bands had to balance each other since they couldn't achieve balance through length. It was actually a very intricate bit of magic that allowed them to work at all and Harry found it very interesting.

He was now on high alert for anything Dumbledore might be planning, as his birthday drew closer his paranoia grew. His darker instincts started to take over as his fear lessened his hard won control. He found himself snapping and snarling at anything out of the ordinary. Severus only put up with that once before he firmly persuaded Harry his billowing black robes were not a threat.

"Harry you have got to work on controlling yourself, whatever the headmaster had planned will happen whether you fight it or not." Severus snapped when Harry bristled with anger as he drew too close to the half-cat.

"I can't help it," Harry admitted his voice rougher as he fought to suppress the feline inside him.

"Yes you can, you can control yourself on any other day. Forget the date and treat it like a normal day. If you are surprised you may be less likely to hurt or frighten someone if you are not already tense." Severus coached.

"Why couldn't Dumbledore listen to Pomfrey and you?" Harry grumbled.

"You know him as well as I do, he simply said you should not miss out on any more of your childhood, and that included birthday parties." Severus informed him.

"I don't want one, surely he can see he is not depriving me of anything if I don't want it." Harry whined.

"That has never mattered to him, ever, as far as I can tell. He does exactly what he thinks is right and nothing else." Severus explained.

"How can that possibly make sense to him?" Harry asked.

"You have seen him, are you really telling me you expected a man like that to make sense?" Severus replied by asking a question.

Harry thought about it for a moment and grudgingly admitted, "I guess you have a point."

"I know he is difficult to work with, but he is trying, he is making mistakes but he is still trying." Severus explained candidly.

"Why do I always get yelled at for making mistakes in class, but the Headmaster is allowed to make as many mistakes as he wants?" Harry teased a bit of a mischievous spark in his eyes.

"Because, the Headmaster's mistakes can't blow up a room full of first years." Severus pointed out. "He is taking a risk with this plan because of your new instincts, but otherwise he only hurts one or two people if his plans go wrong, not a whole classroom."

"Why is it always me who gets the sour end of his plans?" Harry complained again.

"If you think you are the only one he has done this to, you really are as arrogant as I thought you were. He has played with your life more than some others, I will admit to that, but you are not the only one he has played with and you would do well to remember that." Severus advised.

The two men return to their more-or-less comfortable silence for a little while longer, until it was time for lunch and they had to head up to the Great Hall.

Harry was tensed up again as they came to the doors of the hall, "Stop that! What will come will come, you know what is probably waiting for you on the other side of the door, control your instincts." Severus whispered as the doors swung open admitting them.

When the anticipated shout of Surprise reached their ears, Harry still jumped despite knowing it was coming. He was immediately bowled over by a pack of humanity all rushing to be the first to hug him. Professor Snape barely had time to dodge out of the way before Harry got slammed into on all sides.

"What happened to you Harry?" Ron was the first to ask as he realized the additions to Harry's appearance.

"There was an accident Ron, I will tell all of you about it later, but can we just enjoy the day?" Harry pleaded, reining in the instinct to fight his way out of the crush of people.

"Ah Harry, are you aware of the fact you look like a cat?" He asked, hoping what he was seeing was some elaborate prank.

"Yes, don't worry about it, I will explain later." Harry said dismissively turning to see who had been invited, and found most of Gryffindor house, and most of the Quidditch players in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, apparently when Dumbledore threw a party he didn't go half-way.

Harry noted there was no Slytherins, and while he didn't really want them there anyway, he also didn't know half the people who were invited from Merlin. It seemed to him that if Dumbledore just wanted as many people as possible he would invite at least a few Slytherins but, no that didn't happen. Harry just shook his head at the obvious prejudice and turned to try to greet the people he knew who were there.

What followed was quite possibly the most nerve wracking three hours of Harry's life where he painstakingly put on a smile through the festivities, knowing his changes would be on the front page of the Daily Prophet in the morning. There were too many people here for Harry to trust them all to keep the secret, and he wondered if Dumbledore secretly wanted the whole world to find out the truth already. The procedure preformed on him was technically illegal and he didn't know if Madame Pomfrey could still get in trouble for her decision to go ahead and perform it anyway when they found out he had a Nundu for an Animagus. Part of the reason he refused to answer Ron's questions until later was the fact as long as the strangers didn't know exactly why he was part cat they may be able to keep her name out of the papers.

When the masses of students finally trickled out of Hogwarts Harry was on his last nerve. He was just as skittish now as he was before Severus expertly distracted him from his thoughts. Now he was faced with just Hermione and the Weasley, having to tell the whole story for the first time. It was difficult for him to talk about the beating his uncle gave them, but he pushed through until the whole tale was told.

"You are telling us you are part killer, and you are living with Snape of all people!" Ron yelled enraged at the very idea.

"I didn't ask for any of this Ron, please understand I need your support in this." Harry begged his very first friend.

"I'm here for you Harry," Hermione said quietly, putting her hand on his shoulder, keeping him from flying off the handle at Ron.

"I can't handle this Harry it is too much. I have followed you through everything, but this, no I can't handle it." Ron refused, only sounding vaguely apologetic.

"Ronald Weasley you will apologize to him this instant!" Molly screeched at her son. "Harry dear we understand, this isn't your fault, and it isn't that horrible. I for one am just glad you are alive, those horrible muggles."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Harry murmured still looking at Ron. Hoping his mother's words would get through to the red-head.

"No, I can't forgive him for this." Ron said shortly, and he turned his back to the now very pissed off Harry.

Harry's control snapped at this. "YOU THINK THIS IS EASY FOR ME TO DEAL WITH? YOU THINK I WANTED THIS? I HATE THIS RON, I HATE NOT BEING HUMAN, I HATE LIVING HERE IN THE SUMMER WHEN I SHOULD BE AT HOME. I HATE THE FACT I WAS BEATEN NEARLY TO DEATH. I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS, AND YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH IT? WHAT HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO PUT UP WITH IN ALL YOUR LIFE? HAND ME DOWNS? CORNED BEEF SANDWICHES YOUR MOTHER MADE YOU? YOU HAD A CHOICE, IN EVERYTHING WE HAVE DONE TOGETHER, I NEVER ONCE FORCED YOU TO COME! I HAVE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SAY IN ANY OF IT. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY HAD DONE THIS TO ME UNTIL I WOKE UP IN THE INFIRMARY! YOU SAY YOU CAN'T PUT UP WITH IT, WELL GUESS WHAT RON I CAN'T PUT UP WITH YOUR CHILDISH NONSENSE ANY MORE!"

Harry after finishing his shocking rant decided to launch himself at Ron, trying to hurt his former friend. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to eliminate the threat. He pounced on an unsuspecting Ron and the boy went down hard, you heard his skull crack on the hard stone floor. He was punching and hitting with all of his might. He had just enough control to keep his claws sheathed, until someone came to their senses and hauled him off Ron.

"Calm down Harry!" Severus ordered his arms looked tightly around the still too skinny frame of Harry. Ignoring the hissing and yowling from the enraged cat boy.

"NO! This is too much, I can't take it anymore, LET ME GO SNAPE!" Harry screamed struggling against Severus' hold.

"I won't let you go, you will regret doing this later. Come back to reality Harry, he can't hurt you anymore." Severus soothed as the other got the injured Ron out of the hall and towards the infirmary.

"NO!" Harry snarled, and was doubly surprised when Severus bodily picked him up and carried him out of the Great Hall. Just how strong was Severus if he could hold onto a struggling six-foot tall cat boy? Harry continued to struggle, until they reached the dungeon stairs where he stopped in fear of being dropped down them.

The wards responded to their presence by snapping the door open, allowing Severus to keep a firm grip on the struggling half cat. Dropping the boy unceremoniously on his bed he stated firmly. "You are grounded for the next two weeks for your loss of control and injuring Weasley. The time will be added on to after all the injuries are known. I know he hurt you Harry, but you have to control this or you will be a danger when the school year starts."

He backed out of the room closing the door firmly ignoring Harry's protests. This was the best thing that could be done for him. He did hurt someone he had to be punished, and he also had to control himself or someone else will get hurt a lot worse than Ron had, and Severus knew Harry had been holding back.


	9. Hero

Gunning Down Romance

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Nine

Hero

The next time Harry ventured out of his room, it was to the sound of voices, one a worried Severus and the other was unknown, but whoever it was, he was in pain. Severus was never worried, and since when did someone in pain come to him and not Pomfrey? It was too much for his patience to wait, so he gave into his curiosity and ventured into the sitting room.

The first thing he saw was Severus' face, pasty white with emotion. He took a few more tentative steps and the other man came into view. He was long and lean, with premature silver streaks running through his hair just like Remus, he had a few lines on his face but not many, and amber eyes. The most disconcerting thing about the man was that he was only half dressed, his bare torso covered only in bloody gashes. Harry felt the feline in him reach out to the man, suggesting that this man held an animal too. Was this man a werewolf like Remus? Why would he come to Snape of all people?

"Potter get out of here!" Severus snapped at him when he noticed Harry inching into the room.

"What happened?" Harry ignored Severus and came closer to the injured man anyway. His cat side making a noise halfway between a growl and a purr, a reassuring kind of noise, and he did it instinctively.

"Full Moon," The strange man answered tensely, looking the human cat hybrid over extensively.

"I am not going anywhere, you might as well finish healing him Sir," Harry stated calmly, shocking the Potions master out of his silence.

"I wouldn't have stopped if it weren't for you." Severus reminded Harry, "Know the only reason you are staying is because this does have some baring on you."

"Why?" Harry asked shocked.

"I worked with Voldemort for years, unlike some others I was born a werewolf and my pack was already in his service at the time. I admit at first I enjoyed it. Voldemort has a lot to offer to the creatures. The light side cannot, simply because of the laws they must work around. I did not like it when my pack was order to change as many light sided children as we could find. Not only is changing a person without their consent unsavory, the change itself is more of a curse then a blessing. An infected person has a harder time controlling their wolves, and thus the wolf controls them. Every full moon they turn into mindless killers unless fed Wolfsbane and even the pack that changed them has little more control over them than a normal human does. That is why most lone werewolves are actually ones who have been changed, not born with the wolf.

Can you imagine the sight of an army of killers, all under the age of twelve? That is what Voldemort wanted and that is when I started rebelling. I couldn't not turn any children or my own pack would have turned on me for the betrayal, but I didn't bring them back to the pack like I was supposed to. I was able to leave them with their families and hope that they got help during the full moons. I knew they wouldn't receive any help from the Dark Lord. He wanted those children to be out of control.

I was at a meeting with the Dark Lord when a message came to him, telling him about your changes and he went on a rampage, the results of which you can plainly see. I am telling you right now I am a Dark person, there is very little Light left in my soul, but I stand against Voldemort. His reaction to your changes told me he is intimidated by you, now even more so because you are stronger than ever.

I have known about Severus' true loyalties for years. When I finally managed to get away from Voldemort, I came here. I knew he could heal me and might even know where you were being kept. I didn't know you were staying with him." The stranger explained far more than Harry had been expecting, although Harry had his suspicions that this wasn't even half of the story.

While he had been talking, Severus had been working on the large gashes, using several potions to clean them and to speed up the healing before wrapping them in clean, white bandages. Madame Pomfrey could have completely removed them, but Severus was far more confident with his potions then his healing spell work.

"Who are you?" Harry inquired curious,since he had told that whole story without ever giving his name.

"Fenrir Greyback," The man, now identified as Fenrir, whispered softly.

Harry had heard that name before, "Were you the one who turned Remus Lupin?"

"He was the very first I ever turned. I couldn't have been more than five years older than him, but my pack made sure the job was done by me. All the younger pack members were coerced into changing others so young, because they thought the younger we were when we started, the less likely we would balk at it when we were older. Remember, my pack had been in the service of Voldemort for a very long time and I was not the first forced to do such a thing. I regret each and every person I was forced to change. I tried to make it as painless as possible by biting on the ankle or hand, where it is easy to break flesh, then let go before any major damage is done, but the process of changing itself is incredibly painful." Fenrir admitted.

"You might end up getting a chance to talk to him, he is an old friend of my he chooses to side against you, I will follow his instincts before yours." Harry warned. "Until then, I am willing to believe what you say for now."

"I didn't expect you to trust me right away and it is best if you don't. I would rather have you be suspicious of everyone, including me, than be overly trusting and let a spy get too close. You hold many lives in your hands. I could help you make sure you don't lose more then necessary if you let me." Fenrir advised.

"I never wanted any lives to be put in my hands, I can barely take care of my own. I thought that would be obvious. If I was capable of helping myself I wouldn't be in this mess." Harry bristled angrily at the thought.

"Whether you like it or not, you´ve been given a task. You will never be left in peace as long as this task isn't done. The moment you finish what people want you to do, things will get worse for a while. But you will eventually fade into the background as another crisis calls for a different savior." Fenrir warned.

Harry sighed resentfully. "I know that, but I hate this, why should I have to do something alone that no one else wants to do, even with an army behind them?"

"Who ever said you had to do it alone? It may be you that has to deliver the killing blow, but that doesn't mean you have to get to that point alone. If someone is telling you that you must do this on your own, they are daft." Fenrir replied.

"Meet Headmaster Dumbledore, I get told absolutely nothing of importance, but I am expected to save the day despite knowing nothing!" Harry revealed.

"I figured something like that might be happening. Just ignore the old fool and get the information you need through any means necessary. If it ends with you destroying the Dark Lord, few are going to accuse you of the rules you broke in school to learn the key secret in destroying him, as the case may be." Fenrir informed him.

"I was going to do that from now on, anyway. He dropped the last straw when his love of secrets got my godfather killed. I know many others were involved, but with more information those people wouldn't have had a chance to get involved." Harry agreed with Fenrir's advice.

Harry noticed that Fenrir was tired out from everything that had happened to him. To give the man a break to rest he told them, "I am going back to my room to think for awhile, thank you Fenrir, for coming here, I hope it was worth it."

"We will see." Fenrir replied tiredly.

'Yes we will,' Harry thought as he went to his room and laid down, sleep sounding good to him too.


	10. Courage

**Gunning Down Romance**

**DaggersBloodPain**

A/N I am posting the rest of this story all in one go. I have finally finished it and its time to put this one to rest.

Oh and I have decided to change the stories name because the current title doesn't match the content any more

**Chapter Ten**

**Courage**

As Fenrir grew stronger the two not quite humans began to take more interest in each other. Harry just wanted someone other than Severus and Poppy to talk to for a change, but Fenrir wanted to see just what kind of person could scare the dark lord into such rash and foolhardy plans.

Fenrir couldn't for the life of him figure out why Voldemort feared him. Harry was strong yes, but after seeing what the Dark Lord was capable of Fenrir knew unless Harry lost some of his morals he would never sink to the level of the insane megalomaniac. Harry was truly light, not the haughty, arrogant better than thou light. It was more like a subtle innocence that told him that yes Harry had the power to kill, but not the will.

In his pack he saw what happened to the wolves who were forced to kill when it wasn't in their nature, it wasn't a pretty sight. Was the wizarding world really going to force this young one to ruin that light part of him? It was time to talk to Harry, in the end it was going to be the boy's life, he should decide what he wanted to do. He went off in search of the half-cat hoping this would be easy and painless.

Three days later the grounds of Hogwarts were filled with the sounds of growled orders and yowling retorts. Fenrir and Harry had taken over the Quidditch pitch for a few training sessions. Trying to get Harry used to his new strengths and understand the world of fighting a little better.

Harry was only comfortable with this arrangement because he had already talked to Remus who confirmed Fenrir's story about how he was changed. With Remus' agreement a lot of Harry's doubts were washed away leaving him able to meet the older werewolf during the days for their long painful lessons.

In the evenings was the time for quiet conversation and recuperation. Harry and Severus continued to bicker and occasionally argue, but it had lost its bite a long time ago and was more from force of habit.

Harry didn't know if it came from having a decided lack of family for most of his life or it was a part of his new instincts but he was beginning to think of Poppy, Severus, and Fenrir as his family. A very strange family, but they were the people he went to when he was scared, angry, or in pain and wasn't that what a family was for?

The first time he had called Severus father had been a joke.

Severus had been looking for Harry, and found him lounging on his bed reading, in the middle of what looked like a cyclone had hit his room. "Harry I think its time you cleaned up this mess." Severus ordered.

"I'll get to it," Harry replied absently, absorbed in his book.

"You will get to it now," Severus argued.

"Why do you care, it's my room!" Harry yelled back finally taking his eyes off the book.

"Because you are old enough to keep your room presentable, it won't take you that long just clean it up." Severus cajoled, never pausing despite the fact he never thought he would be arguing with a teenager over keeping their room clean while said teen was living with him.

"Yes father," Harry snapped back, not really realizing what he had said until Severus stopped yelling in shock.

From that day on when Harry was either very tired, or feeling playful he called Severus father, and he put up with it for reasons he wasn't quite sure of himself.

He thought of Poppy like a mother but had never gotten either the opportunity or the courage to call her that. He didn't think she would mind, but it just never came up.

Fenrir was just Fenrir, he was a mentor and teacher, but as far as family went, Harry didn't know quite where he fit in just yet, but there was no doubt he did have a part.

Fenrir pushed Harry to his breaking point making him stronger and faster. Harry found out his strength was not far off from the werewolves but being completely untrained he found himself eating dirt far too often.

Fenrir forced Harry to fight with both magic and physical attacks. He could fight more than one person if he honed his skills enough. Fenrir was just glad they had managed to come to an arrangement that Harry allowed himself to be trained without too much stubbornness.

When the final battle got there the world would be in for one interesting surprise that's for sure.


	11. Stripped

.

Crash and Burn

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Eleven

Stripped

As Harry, and thus the light side, grew stronger so did the dark. Voldemort was breeding an army of werewolves to aide his human fighters. Every member of the dark side was forced to train until they were either the best they could be or dead. He killed off almost as many of his own followers as he got through the training. It showed just how greedy and warped the purebloods flocking to them were if they put themselves an their children on the line time and again for Voldemort all for nothing but the promise of power and fame that few had gotten any of.

Voldemort knew his greatest opponent was going to be Harry, but that didn't mean he was the only threat, just because he couldn't be killed by someone else didn't mean his followers were safe. Even if he survived he couldn't win the war if the Light side cut through his death eaters like wheat.

He knew if he wanted to win he had to struck the light side's weak point, Hogwarts. if he attacked the light's children and killed enough of them the Light side would be angry enough to kill. If he attacked the school in the summer he could dispatch all the professors and maybe even Dumbledore that would spread panic and fear.

He knew if he timed it just right it would be perfect. The raid was set, he was going to attack Hogwarts on the last night of August. With a little luck the first people to find out the truth would be the students themselves scaring them off from fighting.

Xxxx

Harry woke up with a scream in his throat and Fenrir and Severus came running into his room wands drawn.

"What happened Harry?" Severus asked sharply still searching for the danger.

"Voldemort is planning a raid, he will be attacking the school the night before the students get back." Harry reported still breathing heavily from the dream.

"Why would he do it then? Why not wait until the students are at the school, or maybe attack the train itself when the students are more vulnerable?" Fenrir wondered allowed.

"He believes if the children are attacked first it will cause a rage in the Light side and we are strong enough to kill most of his followers if we are all fighting for the same goal. He wants to attack the school and kill as many professors and take a stab at Dumbledore as he can, that will cause a panic and no one will fight. He is hoping the students will be the ones to find the bodies." Harry relayed.

"Even if he succeeded the students wouldn't find them the house elves would and they would have half the ministry here in a heart beat, no child would ever see a hair out of place. Voldemort's plan is cunning though, because he is right, attacking the children outright will backfire on him, and unfortunately he knows it." Severus explained.

"The Dark Lord is half insane right now, frankly I am surprised he is sane enough to realize attacking the students would be a bad idea. He will not be thinking things through as much as we will, but depending on how many of his fighters he brings, we will still be severely outnumbered." Fenrir explained to Severus.

"Are we going to fight him than? Why wouldn't we just get out of here?" Harry asked coming out of his shock from the dream.

"If we fight him while we are prepared on Hogwarts soil we can keep innocent causalities from escalating, this way it will only be those who truly wish to fight. It has come to the point where the dark side will be stronger than the light if we wait any longer, even as it stands we are evenly matched." Severus pointed out.

"Than what are we waiting for you need to train me more, remember our deal Fenrir. I will keep my end of the bargain you keep yours." Harry decided as he hauled himself out of bed, he would not be sleeping any longer on this night so he might as well do something useful with his time.

"I will join you this time, I will not be sleeping either, and you are going to have to learn to fight more than one person at the same time if you intend to survive." Severus volunteered.

XXXX

Voldemort watched his followers fight each other for survival and with every drop of blood and scream of pain his maniacal smile grew wider. He was envisioning the blood and gore of the battle and reveling in it. He could not imagine a bunch of softhearted buffoons could beat his battle-hardened fighters.

He was looking forward to having that brat's blood staining his hands. It would be the closing of one era and the beginning of another. He was ready, the boy had better be worth his time, or he might just get angry.


	12. It Ends Tonight

Crash and Burn

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Twelve

It Ends Tonight

"Fenrir, our deal is still on right?" Harry asked as they finished lacing up the ties on their battle gear. The thick leather armor would only stop minor spells, but in a battle every little bit helped.

"Yes, the deal is still on, we will use the confusion of the fight to let you slip away. You will be free after tonight to find your own way. The prophecy never says you have to kill him, it just says you have to stop him. If you are meant to do it you will, but you will find your true method on your own." Fenrir agreed.

"Thank you for giving me the strength to run. Without you I would have stayed and fought, and probably died trying to win a battle that just wasn't what I was supposed to do. I need to get a better grip on myself before I try to kill. It just isn't in me despite the Nundu inside. I will be back to face Voldemort but I can't do it now, and if I die in battle than the bastard will never be stopped." Harry said.

"Just remember to come back to us, we will all miss you terribly if you run for too long, but out of all of us you deserve some freedom." Fenrir agreed.

"You deserve freedom too, how long has Voldemort had you in a cage? I still don't see why you don't come with me?" Harry asked animatingly.

"Harry, I am a werewolf, a pack animal at heart. I have to stay. For me the only freedom is to chose the family I bond with. I will stay here and protect the children of this school, they are my pack, just as you are. I will give you the time you need and your place will be here when you get back." Fenrir assured.

"I know." Harry replied.

Hours later as the shout, curses and brightly colored spells streamed across the battlefield, Harry was slowly fighting his way through the Dark ranks, not killing, only disabling. His goal was the other side, at the end of the wards, he could be free if he could just hold on a little longer.

His ears were ringing from the noise and his nose burned with the scents of battle, he hated the feeling and wanted to be free now, but still he had to keep fighting through. Using every trick he had learned from Fenrir and Severus to keep himself alive. He was almost there, only a few more feet of ground separated him from freedom, when the thing he was dreading happened. The Dark Lord himself finally made his entrance.

Appearing in the middle of the battle field the master of the dark side began firing spells in all directions not caring which side he hit with them as all he wanted was the death and violence. Harry tried to just keep walking, to not listen to the screaming of his conscience to turn back and face the monster.

He almost wont the battle with himself until he heard a familiar cry and he looked up to find his Fenrir on the ground convulsing under Voldemort's crucio. The man's ire finally focusing on a single target. That's When Harry lost control of the animal inside of him and the thoughts were overcome by the instincts of the Nundu. Fight, kill, protect his family his eyes glowed bright green as he whipped around and started clearing a path to Voldemort. The fighters sick of dying for nothing let him through. It was time to end this.

Not caring to see his face, he through the most vile curse in existence at the Dark Lord's unsuspecting back, and it hit home. Again and again Harry fired off the one curse he never thought he would use. It wasn't until the potion's generated body in front of him was a pile of ash that he stopped.

The cat inside of him was practically purring from the death of the monster, while the slowly awakening Harry crumbled to the ground with the agony of the act. He screamed so ferally that many of the seasoned fighters were chilled to the bone by its heart rending tones of regret and pain.

When Harry collapsed onto the ground, he was caught in the warm arms of Fenrir, the man he had killed to save, but Harry couldn't feel their warmth. He couldn't feel anything. His emotions numb he didn't fight the oncoming swell of darkness. Passing out in the werewolves arms, he would never see the end of the battle, where the light wizards rounded up the shocked to the core Dark side like sheep, shipping them off to holding cells to await trials and most likely long stays in Azkaban or worse.

All Harry saw was another person dying by his hands running through his mind over and over again. For him the darkness was not kind it was a never-ending nightmare.


	13. Shell

Crash and Burns

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Thirteen

Shell

The war was over Voldemort was dead. The wizarding world was caught in a daze, not quite sure what to think, also a bit hesitant about celebrating the Dark Lord had come back from the dead once before what was stopping him from doing that again.

Hogwarts was being rebuilt, teams of wizards from all over the world were working together to fix the gaping wounds on the castle walls. Inside the students and professors continued to survive in the still intact portions of the school.

The world continued its turning and life moved on, everyone was breathing a sigh of relief.

Everyone but one small man with deadened emerald eyes. Despite being hailed a hero and worshipped once again he could not forget the thrill of power as he shouted those two deadly words at the Dark Lord. He was never supposed to cast that spell, his deal with Fenrir was simple, Fenrir had not been training Harry to fight, he had been training him to run. When he saw his family under attack Harry couldn't just leave. He forced himself to kill and now he was in a coma like state of utter shock and horror.

"Has there been any change?" Fenrir asked Madame Pomfrey as he came to Harry's bedside.

"No, as far as I can tell he is conscious but can't see or hear anything. He just doesn't want to face the world yet, and I don't blame the poor dear. He was never cut out for war. I remember the first time Lily and James brought him for us to meet he was such a sweet baby, not one to fuss. When he came in this summer covered in blood and in all that pain in that moment I would have given my life to save him, instead I risked my career and freedom to perform the operation. I feel like I did this to him. If I hadn't been so selfish I would have just let him slip into a peaceful death instead of bringing him back to the prison of his life." Poppy had tears in her eyes by the end of the speech.

"Don't say such things, and Harry will come back to us sooner or later, he will take some time to do it, but he is a strong one. Give him that much faith. You carry too much guilt where this boy is concerned when he loves you like the mother he lost." Fenrir assured the medi-witch softly.

Both were surprised when, for the first time since the battle, Harry moved. He reached out and grabbed the hand of Madame Pomfrey who was smoothing his bed sheets and held on tight. The just made the tears come faster. "You better get well soon young man we are all waiting for you." She whispered.

It took three weeks for Harry to move again. One morning he just wasn't in his bed, and Poppy nearly had a heat attack until she realized she heard water running in the bathroom, ten minutes later a wide awake Harry walked through the door toweling his hair dry, a pair of transfigured jeans his only clothing. Madame Pomfrey was all smiles and laughter as she rushed up to hug the young man.

Harry accepted the hug, patting her on the back as she started to cry tears of joy. Finally he spoke in his half-growling voice, "I'm not back, not yet, but I felt like I had been laying around for too long." Harry admitted.

"I'm just glad you came out of it, for awhile you had us all worried," she informed him.

With that his ears drooped a bit, "I know I worried you but I just couldn't handle it, I actually enjoyed killing another human, that was my worst fear realized."

"What are you planning on doing now?" Poppy asked worried about his still dead to the world eyes.

"I can't stay here, this is my home, and I have my family here, but I need some time." Harry confessed.

"We thought you might, come with me there is something for you in my office," Poppy felt her eyes sting as she realized the gift the three of his mentors had been putting together would actually be used, she had been hoping it wouldn't be.

The gift was contained in a simple box which Poppy handed to Harry with reverence. There was something both useful and sentimental in the box from each of them.

Harry opened the box carefully not wanting to damage whatever happened to be inside. The first thing he came to was a carved wooden chest measuring about eight inches long and five inches deep. Lifting the lid he found an array of potions vials and a note laid on top with familiar handwriting.

_Harry,_

_These are general healing potions that will help you if your accident-prone nature continues, which I'm sure it will. I have included instructions on what each of these does and what dosage to take. I hope they serve you well. _

_Use it well,_

_Severus Snape_

Harry knew Severus was using his gift of time and skill to help him and that made Harry feel like he wasn't as much of a burden on the older man as he had thought he had been.

The next thing he brought out was a black cloak that looked like it would cover him from ears to the ground. It felt warm to the touch and Harry knew it was probably laced with heating charms. This time the note was pinned to the front of the cloak.

_Harry,_

_I do not know where you will be going but I do not want you catching cold. This coat has heating and protection spells placed on it. keep it close and it will keep you safe and warm until you come back to us._

_Love,_

_Poppy Pomfrey_

Harry didn't say a word as he hugged the woman he thought of like a mother, he knew there was one more thing in the box but he took a few minutes to enjoy what was probably going to be one of his last hugs from her in awhile.

When he finally got around to it, he had to dig into the very bottom of the box to find it. A small velvet pouch that when he opened it and poured the contents out onto his palm he found it to contain a smooth white gold chain with a tear drop emerald stone as the pendant. A piece of parchment was rolled up in the pouch and it read.

_Harry,_

_I know the others are all giving you something useful, this isn't anything more than a reminder than you have people that care. Keep the pendant over your heart and every day you put it on remember the home and family you have. We will wait for you to return to us. However long it takes for you to find yourself come back._

_Remember us,_

_Fenrir Greyback._

When Harry finally gathered everything up and was ready to leave, the box was held in a pack across his back, the pendant lay heavy on his chest, and the cloak went around his shoulders protectively, he felt the warmth from the people who cared enough to give him something he needed. When the time was right he would be back, and when he was he would be ready to face the truth.


	14. Epilogue

Crash and Burn

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

The pub was warm and the cool liquid inside his mug was refreshing as he sat at the bar hood pulled up over his ears. Ten years to the day had passed since that horrible night and here he sat continuing the yearly ritual.

As if on cue at the same time as the years before the bells above the door chimed admitting a blast of cold air and another cloaked person. Without a word the newcomer pulled up a stool next to the previously sitting man, a tankard already being pushed into his hand, he sipped at it slightly reveling it to be his favorite drink.

"How have you been doing Harry?" He asked gently after a few settling pulls on his drink.

"A little better, I was in Italy for the past year, it was a nice place." Harry answered glancing up at his werewolf mentor.

"It's been a decade, I was wondering if you were ready to come home? I know Remus and Poppy miss you, and even Severus is grouchier than usual." Fenrir inquired gently knowing it was a sore point.

Harry took a drink to avoid answering immediately, but finally got himself pulled together enough to answer. "I think it might be time, I have been to all the places I wanted, and I had the peace I wanted. Yet the very grounds of Hogwarts hold memories so deeply buried in me I doubt I will ever be able to enjoy a walk around them again."

"You will one day Harry, but if you keep running you will never get better." Fenrir encouraged.

"I can't promise anything but I will at least try." Harry responded softly.

"That's all we can ask of you, now come on your family is waiting for you." Fenrir asked emptying his tankard as Harry followed suit, he lead the docile young wizard towards the place he almost lost it all. Harry trusting his old teacher enough to guide them home, up the path from the three broomsticks, through the gates feeling the gravel crunch under their feet. They could have summoned one of the carriages or taken the floo to the entrance hall but no, Harry needed this walk it was the only way he would ever heal.

Five years later…

Harry was sitting at the head table, Severus on one side Fenrir on the other. He was watching the new first years be sorted with interest, he wasn't a head of house but each new face was a ray of hope to him. In the five years since his return he had slowly come to terms with his part to end he war, the smiling faces of the children helping him.

Harry was not a professor of any particular subject, he was more of a substitute, filling in when the others were sick or just needed a break, most often for the Defense classes, which Fenrir had taken over. Once a month Harry would come in for three days and teach. The students had gotten used to his transformation over time, and even the new first years looked up at him with curiosity, no fear in their young eyes. That warmed his heart.

It was a simple life, but a good one. He would never have the carefree attitude he had before the war took its hold on him, but he wasn't the washed up shell he used to be and that was the best thing of all. Worming his hand into the one next to his he felt the heat coming off Fenrir and allowed himself to bask in it.


End file.
